Police: Meriden Woman Left 3-Year Old In Cold Car While She Grocery Shopped

Meriden Police Department

Meriden Police Department

Police: Meriden woman leaves 3-year old boy alone in cold car for an hour while she shopped for groceries

MERIDEN — A 34-year old Meriden woman who allegedly left a 3-year-old child in a car for almost an hour while she shopped for groceries is facing charges of reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a minor, police said.

Police received a report of a young child alone in a car at the Stop & Shop at 485 Broad St. about 4:16 p.m. on Thursday. When police arrived, they found a 3-year old boy unsupervised in a Honda Odyssey.

Officers removed the child from the car and placed him in a warm police car. The outside temperature was 20 degrees at the time, police said.

Video footage of the parking lot showed the car entering at 3:42 p.m. and the driver, Blanca Vilagomez, 34, enter the grocery store with her 5-year old daughter shortly after that. Police escorted Vilagomez back to her car at 4:40 p.m.

Police said that both children were taken to MidState Medical Center for evaluation and that the Department of Children and Families was notified about the incident.

Vilagomez was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, risk of injury to a minor, leaving a child under the age of 12 unsupervised and operating a motor vehicle without a license. Vilagomez's bond was set at $5,000 and she was scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court on the charges on Feb. 20.